A knee problem forced the Reds to pull out before the attacking midfielder got over that setback by helping France to go on and win the World Cup just over a month later.

Now his Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas has claimed his team’s talisman was also offered to Liverpool’s Premier League rivals at Stamford Bridge.

Speaking at a press conference to unveil new signing Marcelo, the chief said: "In the beginning, when we thought about our summer transfer window and how to organise the future squad. We thought that he [Fekir] was practically gone.